Speakers

Timothy J. Atkinson is a Clinical Pharmacy Practitioner in Pain Management and federal employee working in pain and opioid policy development and dissemination. Dr. Atkinson specializes in complex and high-risk pain medication management. He was a residency director for a PGY-2 Pain and Palliative Care Pharmacy Residency program for many years and remains a strong advocate for expansion of clinical pharmacists with expertise in collaborative drug therapy management (CDTM) specific to pain management. Dr. Atkinson is a board member representing pain management for the Society of Pain and Palliative Care Pharmacists. Dr. Atkinson is the owner of Vanguard Pain Management Consulting where he advises clients in managed care and develops continuing education programs for pain management and substance use disorders. His research interests include opioids, buprenorphine, NSAIDs, pain management in specialty disease states, and the elderly.

Christopher M. Herndon is a Professor with the Southern Illinois University Edwardsville (SIUE) School of Pharmacy. Currently, Dr. Herndon sees patients with chronic pain and opioid use disorder within a family medicine residency clinic. Dr. Herndon was the 2019 president for the Society of Pain and Palliative Care Pharmacists (SPPCP) and current president of the SPPCP Foundation. He is the 2006 recipient of the “Pain Champion Award” from the Alliance of State Pain Initiatives, the 2012 recipient of the “Academic Pain Educator of the Year Award” from the American Society of Pain Educators, the 2016 “Pharmacist of the Year” from the Illinois Pharmacist’s Association, and the 2018 recipient of the Distinguished Service Award from the American Pain Society.

Charles E. Argoff is Professor of Neurology at Albany Medical College, Vice-Chair, Department of Neurology, Director of the Comprehensive Pain Center at Albany Medical Center and Director of the Pain Management Fellowship in Albany, NY. Dr. Argoff is a member of the American Academy of Neurology, the International Association for the Study of Pain, the American Academy of Pain Medicine, and the Eastern Pain Society and the New York State Pain Society. He is the Immediate Past President of the American Academy of Pain Medicine, the Past President of the American Academy of Pain Medicine Foundation, and Past President of the New York State Pain Society. He is one of the editors of the recently published textbook Raj’s Practical Management of Pain, Sixth Edition, and co-author of Defeat Chronic Pain Now, a book written for people with chronic pain. He has recently published the fourth edition of Pain Management Secrets. He is on the editorial board for the Clinical Journal of Pain.

Target Audience

This activity was planned to meet the educational needs of physicians, pharmacists, physician associates and nurse practitioners (prescribers and non-prescribers) involved in the care of patients receiving opioid analgesic therapy, nonpharmacologic therapies, and non-opioid medication therapies.

Format

This activity consists of the following:

• A pre-assessment completed during registration
• A faculty slide presentation with active learning and faculty discussion
• Supplementary materials
• A post-assessment (a score of at least 70% is required)
• An evaluation completed on the ASHP eLearning Portal

Participants must participate in the activity in its entirety to claim continuing education credit online at the ASHP eLearning Portal. Follow the prompts to complete the post-assessment and evaluation, claim credit, and view the statement of credit immediately after completing the activity.

Learning Objectives

• Compare risks versus benefits of opioid analgesics and other pain treatments to ensure safe and effective medication use that aligns with the Opioid Analgesic REMS requirements.
• Apply evidenced based methods to provide individualized screening, identification, and early treatment to patients with opioid use disorder.
• Implement patient-centered methods for comprehensive pain management treatment discussion with patients.
• Assess appropriateness of an opioid taper taking into consideration best practices for tapering and patient specific factors.
• Counsel patients and caregivers about the safe use of opioid therapy, methods to reduce risks, and proper storage and disposal of the medications.

Agenda

• 5 p.m. – Welcome and Introductions
  Timothy J. Atkinson
• 5:05 p.m. – Foundational Principles of Pain Management
  Charles E. Argoff
• 5:40 p.m. – Individualized Pain Pharmacotherapy
  Timothy J. Atkinson
• 6:15 p.m. – Balancing Patient-Centered Care with Public Health in Chronic Pain Management and Opioid Use Disorder
  Christopher M. Herndon
• 6:50 p.m. – Faculty Discussion, Questions and Answers
  All Faculty

Accredited for CPE and CME

ACPE #: 0204-0000-25-411-L08-P
CE Credit: 2.0 contact hours (0.2 CEUs)
Activity Type: Application-based
Activity Fee: No charge

To Claim CE for the webinar, enter the CE code announced during the activity and complete the evaluation.

Other parts of the Initiative...

For those unable to attend the live webinar in October, the presentation will reoccur live in April 2026.

An on-demand version will be available in late-November 2025.